1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the claimed invention may relate generally to the characterization of fluid flow in downhole applications, and more particularly to downhole annular measurement systems. However, embodiments may not be limited to these fields and applications of aspects of the various concepts recited herein may be applied to other related and unrelated fields.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Hydrocarbon fluids such as oil and natural gas are obtained from a subterranean geologic formation, referred to as a reservoir, by drilling a well that penetrates the hydrocarbon-bearing formation. However, measurement of fluid either produced from the well or injected into the well can present problems for accurately determining the flow of fluid through the well without significantly impeding access through the main production tubing bore. In addition, precise measurement of the individual contributions of various zones in a multi-zone well or various branches in a multi-lateral well can also be difficult, but important in determining the balance and productivity of the well system.
Therefore, one purpose among many proposed for various embodiments described herein is to configure a downhole annular measurement system adapted to characterize parameters of the fluids produced from or injected into a given zone. The measurement may be done without any restriction in the main bore, accordingly leaving full bore access in the tubing. Various embodiments may be more particularly designed for multi-zone Intelligent Completion (IC) systems but the concepts are applicable to single zone wells.
An illustrative result of the measurements provided by some of the embodiments of the downhole system may be to characterize the flow contribution from each zone in a producer well. Characterization may include measuring the flow rate and possibly identifying the proportion and physical properties of the different phases of the constituent fluid (e.g., such as oil, water and gas), prior to the fluid joining the main bore production. Alternatively, in an injector well, an illustrative result may be to measure the quantity of fluid separated out from the main bore and injected into a given zone.
In order to characterize the production of a multi-zone completion, downhole measurement devices, such as a flowmeter system, may be installed in each producing/injecting zone. The downhole system may be integrated to the rest of the completion string and is installed along with the completion.